Crabtastic
While I was in Devon I really wanted to get some fresh crab. Unfortunately crab wasn’t in season but I managed to get nearly half a kilo of frozen claw meat (although it cost me £10). The first time I tried crab I was about 10 years old and I remember not liking it, but for some reason I really wanted to try it again. I had some wonderful crab sandwiches last year in Arran, an island off the west coast of Scotland, which sparked my craving to get some when I was next near the sea.
I started off making a simple mayonnaise by whisking an egg yolk with a teaspoon of vinegar, Dijon mustard, a grinding of salt, zest from 1 lemon and a sprinkle of cayenne pepper (this can be done in a food processor but our accommodation didn’t have one so it was back to the arm aching old fashioned method) then drizzling in very slowly some light olive oil until the mixture was thick and wobbly. (If the oil is poured in too fast the mixture will curdle but it can be rescued by adding a teaspoon of boiling water and mixing vigorously to bring it together or by adding the curdled mayonnaise slowly to another egg yolk and whisking together.
Once the mayonnaise was made I added a handful of white crab meat and folded them gently together. The sandwich was assembled with thick slices of wholemeal bread and fresh rocket leaves, heaping the crab mayonnaise on last, delicious!
